POSTGAME QUOTES: Houston Dynamo at LA Galaxy

“The result was the biggest improvement. The defending was good, I thought we took our chance really well and still created some other chances. LA is going to throw guys forward and test you and they did that and we bent a little bit but we didn’t break. It was nice to see.”

On the result:

“In the first 20 minutes they were getting behind us and got the penalty. After that we slowed it down a little bit, played some good stuff. I thought Will (Bruin) and Giles (Barnes) worked a good partnership tonight and caused some problems. We were organized, we defended well, the gaps between lines weren’t too big. Overall, I was very pleased with it.”

On Houston’s nine blocked shots:

“They had a couple good looks, they got some guys open but I think we did some good recovering, emergency defending, to block some things especially at the end there. I think it hit Jermaine a little bit below the belly, it was one of those where guys are throwing their bodies in front of the ball which is what you need.”

On Andrew Driver’s goal:

“It was a good run by Giles and he just hits the ball across and Andrew follows the play real nice, gets a good hit on the ball. We’re trying to get around that corner a couple of times in the first half and it happened again in the second half and something good came from it.”

HOUSTON DYNAMO GOALKEEPER TALLY HALL

On Donovan’s penalty kick:

“I think that was the third penalty he’s taken on me and he’s gone left the two times before. He’s good enough to switch it back and forth but he’s a smart enough player to remember that’s been successful for him. I wish I could have had the other two but I’ll take this one tonight.”

On the importance Houston’s current road trip:

“Seasons aren’t made this early but when you are facing three games in a week it becomes an opportunity. We could collect some serious points and having the first two on the road, it’s a difficult challenge but now we’ve set ourselves up to have a really positive week.”

On his team’s defensive performance:

“It’s a fun game to play in because you see the back four battling and fighting hard and I think physically we were in every tackle and it pays off over the 90 minutes. To play that well, to battle that well, to stay that organized it turns into a fun game because your energy is behind it and you get that feeling that momentum is going your way just because defensively you’re so solid.”

HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER ANDREW DRIVER

On his goal:

“I remember thinking I was a bit behind the ball. Then that’s when the ball went over the top and I’ve been waiting all game to get, the two big strikers behind their center halves and they did it all day and they did it brilliantly and from there it was just a gamble trying to catch up to the play and the ball fell to me and the rest is history.”

On the importance of Houston forwards getting behind the Galaxy defenders:

“It was massive for us today and it was our biggest threat. The one thing it did was, if we got in a little danger we could get the ball to the top and we knew the guys were going to win it and it takes all the pressure off, and it’s a massive help.”

On the importance of tonight’s win:

“We let ourselves down the last couple of weeks. We didn’t play as well as we could and we knew this was a big game coming into these three away games. So to come here and get a result … was a massive game for us and we can take massive confidence from this during the next couple games.”

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA

On his overall thoughts from the game:

"We played poorly tonight and deserved to lose, that simple. We weren't good, in all phases of the game. Technically we were very poor, our passing was poor, we had a few plays where if our passing was better we could get at them. In the first half we had chances to get a goal or two, but we were not good tonight, give Houston credit."\

On the play of Landon Donovan and his missed penalty kick:

"Never good to miss a penalty kick, we are probably going to have to change that. He has missed two in two games that we have lost 1-0. We lost in Dallas too, it is not good, we probably need to make a change. The referee certainly screwed that play up, big time, but I will let them deal with that. I think in most cases that is a red card, but to not even give a card...if they give a yellow card you can understand that, maybe, but it is remarkable he didn't give a card on the play. We have a gentleman in charge of our referees now so it will be interesting to see if they make a decision on that."

On the play of the young forwards, Jose Villarreal, Charlie Rugg and Gyasi Zardes:

"I thought Jose had a solid game. I think Charlie had a rough night and didn't play particularly well. Gyasi had his moments, technically he could have been a little bit better. It is going to take him a little bit of time. Obviously we missed Robbie (Keane) there, but that's life. Injuries are all part of the game."

On the play of the Houston Dynamo tonight:

"They worked really hard. They outworked us, I think, that was the biggest thing I took away from the game. Houston played harder than us. They owned the midfield tonight and came up with a lot of second balls. I thought Ricardo Clark had a very good game, and Andrew Driver played very well, their back line was solid. We were too passive in the attacking third of the field, we didn't have enough people take the initiative, taking on players, looking for their shot, that kind of thing."

LA GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN

On not converting his penalty kick:

“Yeah, I’m not doing my job so someone else is going to have to do it. But aside from that we have to play better and certainly goals change games and that could have changed the game but it happened and we gotta move on.”

On what went wrong on the penalty kick:

“I don’t know. Maybe I over thought it a little bit. I’ve taken a lot of penalties in this league and goalies know sort of my rhythm and how I take them, I’ve taken quite a few against Tally (Hall) now, so guys know and it’s getting harder and harder and we gotta change something up.”

On Houston’s defense:

“They played well. They are a good team. We knew they were going to be motivated and we were a little bit of our game and they got some breaks and they defended well. And when we had our chances we didn’t do well enough. So, all of that generally equals a recipe for a loss.”

On the frustration of tonight’s loss

“Two weeks in a row now we’ve played very well. Some nights you just don’t have it and we have to figure out a way when we don’t have it to get a result and, you know, maybe even if we walk out with a tie tonight we can say, fair enough we didn’t play well but we got a point but to lose the game is difficult, especially at home.”

LA GALAXY FORWARD JOSE VILLARREAL

Overall thoughts on the game:

“We just didn’t play well. Even thought we had chances to score it just wasn’t our night. We’re going to have games like that, we just need to move forward and focus on the road trip we got and make it better.”

On not having Robbie Keane:

“We’re missing Robbie, but we got guys that can step up. Of course we miss him in the attack, but we just didn’t work well as a team today.”

On Houston’s defense:

“They have a solid defense in the back and we couldn’t get through them in the beginning. We had a couple of chances in the second half but I don’t think we were that sharp in the finishing third so we just have to work on that.”